


i like shiny things (but i'd marry you with paper rings)

by Namidatzu



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, zero angst this time i swear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:47:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28040373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Namidatzu/pseuds/Namidatzu
Summary: Dahyun? Propose to her? Nayeon has to snort at the idea. What is this, some cliché romcom movie where two best friends joke around about getting married, only for it to turn into reality by the end?Yeah, right. No way.
Relationships: Im Nayeon/Kim Dahyun
Comments: 6
Kudos: 220





	i like shiny things (but i'd marry you with paper rings)

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there, everyone! So, this might be me finishing writing this Dayeon to make up for the, uhm, angsty one I wrote last time :') But there's zero angst this time, I swear!
> 
> This was heavily inspired by Taylor Swift's "Paper Rings" which is also where I got the title of this fic from :D
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy this one!

It all starts as a joke, really.

They’re best friends, both still single, and came across a jewelry’s storefront with a gorgeous diamond ring on display as they’re walking down the street. The universe might as well have screamed at them to get married already, to be honest.

In an instant, Nayeon rushes over to the glass window, leaving Dahyun to jog after her after being left behind so suddenly. With sparkling eyes, Nayeon gasps and coos over how the sunlight catches the tiny diamond, prompting Dahyun to stop in her tracks, too.

“Dahyunnie, look!” Nayeon all but squeals, pointing at the ring.

Dahyun blinks and leans forward to take a better look, then says, “Yeah, it’s beautiful, alright.”

“Right?” Nayeon gushes, then holds out her left hand and flashes Dahyun a bright grin. “Think it’ll look good on me?”

Narrowing her eyes, Dahyun deadpans, “Uh, don’t you think you should get a girlfriend first before you start thinking about that kind of stuff?”

Nayeon gasps in mock offense and swats at Dahyun’s arm. “You’re so mean, did you know that?” she juts out her lower lip at Dahyun and turns away, cheeks puffed and arms crossed over her chest.

Dahyun laughs and takes Nayeon’s hand, circling her thumb over her ring finger. The touch causes Nayeon’s skin to tingle, which she plays off as nothing more than surprise over Dahyun’s sudden show of affection.

“Fine, yeah, I’m sure it’ll look perfect on you,” Dahyun concedes.

“You’re just saying that,” Nayeon mumbles, though the slight smile toying at her lips gives her away.

“There you go,” Dahyun says with a broad grin and pokes at Nayeon’s cheek. “See, you look great when you smile.”

“Oh, shut up,” Nayeon huffs, heat creeping across her face. “Flattery will get you nowhere, Dahyunnie.”

“Okay, fine.” Dahyun shrugs. “But heck,” she continues in a joking tone and wriggles her eyebrows, still grinning, “maybe I’ll even propose to you with that ring one of these days.”

Nayeon scoffs and rolls her eyes, though she feels butterflies erupt in her stomach at the thought. But strangely enough, she doesn’t shut Dahyun down. Instead, she retorts, “Sure, if you can afford it,” because she knows it’s never going to happen.

Dahyun? Propose to her? Nayeon has to snort at the idea. What is this, some cliché romcom movie where two best friends joke around about getting married, only for it to turn into reality by the end?

Yeah, right. No way.

Not even when Dahyun knows her ring size.

\-------------

Most times, Nayeon wonders why Dahyun is still single.

Really, all Dahyun could do is stand there and she would still manage to turn every single head within the immediate vicinity. 

This is one of those times.

The two of them are just walking around the supermarket and grabbing the things they need off the shelves, and Dahyun somehow manages to catch the attention of this soft-looking, pretty girl with moles dotting her face around their age by simply walking past.

“Hey,” Nayeon whispers, nudging Dahyun. “What do you think about that girl?”

“Huh?” Dahyun glances over to where Nayeon discreetly points at the girl, then scratches at her cheek. “She’s pretty, but I think you’re more beautiful.” This earns her a smack on the arm from Nayeon. “Ow- hey!”

“Idiot,” Nayeon mutters under her breath, blushing fiercely. “Seriously, Dahyun, she looks like she’d give you her number if you ask right now.”

Dahyun fixes her with an incredulous stare. “Uh, you do realize that approaching random strangers at the supermarket to ask for their number is a total creep move, right?”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Nayeon admits.

Dahyun clicks her tongue and grabs a bag of tofu from the fridge. “Besides, you know that’s not my style, Nabongs.”

Nayeon sighs. “Yeah, I know.”

“But I meant it, by the way,” Dahyun suddenly says as they continue walking down the aisles and puts a bag of pasta inside the cart. “When I said that you’re beautiful, I mean,” she clarifies.

See, this is _exactly_ why Nayeon doesn’t understand why Dahyun is still single.

\-------------

Nayeon drops by Dahyun’s place one Monday evening without so much as a heads up, because what even is the spare key Dahyun gave her for if she isn’t going to make good use of it? With a disgruntled noise rumbling at the back of her throat, Nayeon takes off her heels and leaves them by the doorstep, then puts on a pair of slippers before crossing the threshold and into the living room.

With how often Nayeon barges in, Dahyun isn’t even startled by her sudden appearance. In fact, it’s a common occurrence by now, and Nayeon is pretty sure Dahyun would only be surprised if she didn’t show up out of the blue ever so often.

“Hey,” Dahyun greets her without even looking up, glasses perched on her nose as she types away on her laptop.

Nayeon merely grunts in response and plops down on the couch, then sighs and leans her head against Dahyun’s shoulder. Dahyun takes this as her cue to close her laptop and sets it aside on the coffee table so she could give Nayeon her full attention.

“Long day?” Dahyun asks, shifting a little to allow Nayeon to snuggle closer.

“Mmm.” Nayeon sighs again and buries her face into the crook of Dahyun’s neck. “I’m hungry, too.”

Dahyun breathes out a laugh and rubs Nayeon’s shoulder. “I already ordered takeout and it’ll be here soon.”

Nayeon perks up at that, her eyes shining despite her initial exhaustion. “Chinese food?” she asks excitedly.

“From your favorite restaurant, yeah.”

With a broad grin, Nayeon swoops in to plant an appreciative kiss on Dahyun’s cheek and, in a dreamy voice, says, “Why are we not married yet?”

“With each other or with other people?” Dahyun asks, amused.

“Either one,” Nayeon answers nonchalantly. “Speaking of-“ she pokes at Dahyun’s side and wriggles her eyebrows, “-isn’t one of your co-workers, like, into you or something?”

“Who, Jihyo?” Dahyun sounds even more amused.

Nayeon nods and grins. “Yeah, her. She’s cute, I think you’d look good together.”

“Which reminds me, I already asked her out, by the way.”

Of all the things Nayeon was expecting to hear tonight, this piece of news was _not_ one of them. It shocks her so much that she jumps to her feet and screeches, “You _what!?_ You- I-“ she splutters, unable to fathom the thought that Dahyun – Kim _fucking_ Dahyun, her best friend – would ask someone out without telling her beforehand, “-and you didn’t even think to tell me before you did!?”

Then, to Nayeon’s outrage, Dahyun explodes into laughter, her shoulders shaking as she doubles over so hard that she almost falls from the couch. “Oh, man,” she manages to say in between fits of laughter, wiping an invisible tear from her eyes. “You should’ve seen the look on your face, Nabongs. That was _priceless._ ”

Unable to believe that Dahyun just pulled that kind of joke on her, Nayeon glares daggers at her and growls, “ _Kim Dahyun,_ ” in the most menacing way possible.

Sobering up a little, Dahyun sits up straight and answers, “That’s my name, yeah.”

“I _hate_ you,” Nayeon complains before turning tail to storm out, but Dahyun quickly darts out her hand to grab Nayeon’s wrist and pulls her back. This causes them to fall into a heap on the couch, with Nayeon huffing as she tries to squirm free of the tight embrace Dahyun has on her.

“C’mon, Nabongs,” Dahyun says, laughing into her ear. Nayeon pouts, but stops resisting in the end. “Did you really think I’d ask someone out without telling you first?”

“Well, you made it sound so believable,” Nayeon mutters, sullen. Chuckling quietly, Dahyun rubs Nayeon’s thigh, softening her in an instant. “No but really, do you plan on asking her out?”

Dahyun makes a noncommittal noise at the back of her throat and shrugs. “Nah, I don’t.”

“What, really?” Nayeon turns around until she’s straddling Dahyun’s lap, looking for any sign that Dahyun might be joking again. When she realizes that Dahyun is telling the truth, however, she scrunches her eyebrows together and frowns. “Why not?”

Sucking in her lower lip, Dahyun doesn’t answer immediately, and Nayeon twirls a lock of Dahyun’s hair around her index finger while she waits. After a while, Dahyun sighs and slowly says, “Don’t get me wrong, Jihyo is nice. And, yeah, she’s gorgeous, but I dunno. It might make things awkward if it doesn’t work out, you know?”

The way Dahyun speaks so carefully, like she’s treading on thin ice, gives Nayeon the impression that there’s something deeper to it. What it is, however, Nayeon can’t quite figure out. Dahyun never was the kind of person to be an open when it comes to her feelings and what’s going on inside her head, after all.

“Well,” Nayeon starts to say, smile reassuring as she takes Dahyun’s face in her hands to stroke her cheeks, “that’s perfectly fine. You don’t have to pressure yourself if you don’t want to get into a relationship yet.”

With a soft sigh of contentment, Dahyun snakes her arms around Nayeon’s waist and closes her eyes, then nods. “Thanks, Nabongs…”

Nayeon doesn’t know what comes over her, but she responds by leaning in to kiss Dahyun’s cheek, her lips lingering a second longer than usual. “You’re welcome,” she whispers.

Other people would say that their current position is far too intimate for two people who are nothing more than best friends – what with Nayeon straddling Dahyun and Dahyun’s hand pressed against her lower back – and Nayeon would agree with them.

Maybe it _is_ much too intimate for best friends like them, but that’s just how they are. Sometimes, Nayeon thinks if it’s part of the reason why they barely give any thought to dating other people, if at all.

Not that Nayeon is bothered by it. Besides, if she isn’t going to be as comfortable with the person she’s going to date as she is with Dahyun, then she’d rather not date at all.

The doorbell to then starts to ring, and Nayeon reluctantly moves away so Dahyun can get the door.

_Why are we not married yet?_

_With each other or with other people?_

Nayeon worries her lower lip. Surely, Dahyun must have been joking when she said the ‘with each other’ part, right? Like how she joked about proposing to her?

Yeah, that sounds about right.

(She doesn’t know why it keeps playing inside her head like an endless loop when she rests her head on Dahyun’s chest later that night.)

\-------------

They’re cuddling on the couch one evening, with Dahyun mindlessly scrolling through the selection of movies on the screen, when Nayeon asks, “What if I move in with you?”

Dahyun pauses from scrolling, and Nayeon lifts her head from where it rests on Dahyun’s chest so she can gauge her reaction. Them being them, she fully expects Dahyun to either: a, snort and tell her to stop joking around; or b, put up some resistance before eventually agreeing.

But none of these scenarios happen. Instead, Dahyun simply blinks, then shrugs and readily agrees, “Yeah, sure. Why not?”

Nayeon’s first instinct in response to this is by pressing the back of her hand against Dahyun’s forehead to check if she suddenly developed a fever. “Are you sick or something?” she asks, lips tugging down into a deep frown. “No, wait, are you even _my_ Dahyun or are you an impostor?”

With a huff, Dahyun swats Nayeon’s hand away and dryly retorts, “I’m perfectly fine, thank you very much. And no, I am not an impostor or an alien in disguise, in case you’re thinking that, too.”

Unconvinced, Nayeon stares at Dahyun. “I don’t believe you. If you really are Dahyun, you should be trying to stop me from moving in because you think I’d be annoying to live with.”

Dahyun stares back at her, unblinking, then deadpans, “Well, at least I already know what kind of crazy and annoying I’m going to have to deal with if you’re the one moving in.”

“Oh, so you _do_ think I’m annoying,” Nayeon accuses her.

“I never said it was the _bad_ kind of annoying.”

“How can anyone even be annoying in a good way!?”

“I dunno, why don’t you ask yourself?”

Nayeon’s only response to that is to puff out her cheeks and fold her arms across her chest like a stubborn five-year old. She just _can’t_ believe Dahyun sometimes.

She’s caught off guard, however, when Dahyun murmurs, “No, but I really do want you to move in with me.”

“That better not be a j-“ Nayeon’s threat fails her when she sees that Dahyun is serious, not a hint of a smirk toying at her lips or a teasing glint shining in her normally mirthful eyes.

Still, Nayeon waits, because she sure as hell isn’t going to let Dahyun pull her leg for the second time in a row. But Dahyun’s expression doesn’t shift; and Nayeon can’t for the life of her understand why it feels like Dahyun is asking her to move in as a _girlfriend._

It’s times like these where Nayeon hates that Dahyun can be _so damn_ unreadable.

And Nayeon hates, hates, _hates_ that her own heartbeat betrays her by beating much too loud and too fast for her own liking.

Most of all, she hates how it feels like she’s falling for Dahyun, if she hasn’t already.

“Move in with me, Nabongs,” Dahyun says as she looks Nayeon straight in the eye, her gaze and voice so soft she might as well have asked Nayeon to marry her right there and then.

With her heart in her throat, Nayeon sucks in her cheeks, hair falling past her face as she nods.

Dahyun grins and pulls Nayeon flush against her side, and they somehow end up choosing a romcom about two best friends who move in together and end up falling in love.

If Dahyun notices the similarity to their situation, she doesn’t make a comment or even a joke about it throughout the entire movie.

Nayeon doesn’t bring it up, either.

\-------------

The day Nayeon moves in, she doesn’t sleep in her own bed.

She sleeps in Dahyun’s room instead, using Dahyun’s chest as a pillow while their legs are tangled together underneath the sheets. Tired from unpacking her things, Dahyun’s steady heartbeat and her quiet, even breaths become Nayeon’s personal lullaby that night.

And the moment she falls asleep, Nayeon dreams of Dahyun getting down on one knee and asking if she would marry her.

\-------------

(Scratch that. Nayeon sleeps in Dahyun’s room _every night_. Curls into Dahyun and gives her a kiss good night on the cheek before she closes her eyes.

Sometimes, Dahyun ghosts her lips over her shoulder in response. Other times, she kisses Nayeon’s forehead before bringing her head to her chest.

And all those times, Nayeon starts to think that maybe she _wants_ Dahyun.)

\-------------

Nayeon develops the habit of prancing around the apartment in nothing more than Dahyun’s dress shirts with a pair of tiny, tiny shorts underneath, and Dahyun just lets her.

Sometimes, Nayeon even feels Dahyun staring at her, and she makes sure to give her hips an extra sway every time.

In all honesty, Nayeon isn’t sure what her aim is by doing things like this, but what she does know is that she likes the feeling of having Dahyun’s eyes on her.

(Okay, maybe Nayeon wishes Dahyun would just grab her by the waist and kiss her like nothing else matters.)

\-------------

It must have become a little too much for Dahyun to handle one day, as Dahyun slides up to her and mutters, “Aren’t you cold dressed like that?”

Nayeon feels a shiver run down her spine at their sudden closeness, but she acts like she isn’t affected by flashing Dahyun a cheeky smile. “Why, Dahyunnie,” she says, taking on a flirty tone, “don’t you like it when I wear your clothes?”

Dahyun exhales and removes her hand from Nayeon’s waist. “You’re crazy.”

“Crazy for you, baby,” Nayeon teases as she winks at Dahyun (which feels more like her blinking, but whatever).

Dahyun snorts and shakes her head, a fond twinkle in her eye as she pushes a pair of sweats into Nayeon’s hands. “Just wear these,” she says in exasperation.

“Ugh, fine,” Nayeon mutters under her breath and does as she’s told, then pouts at Dahyun. “There, happy now?”

“Yup,” Dahyun pops out, squeezing Nayeon’s waist. “And to answer your question, yeah, I do like it when you wear my clothes.”

The gears in Nayeon’s head grind to a halt. Did Dahyun just- did she just _flirt_ back with her? And in the most casual way possible?

A strangled noise catches at the back of her throat when Dahyun grins and walks away like nothing happened, leaving Nayeon to stand there looking like a fish out of water.

_God._

Dahyun is going to be the reason she gets a stroke one of these days.

\-------------

There’s this one time where Nayeon gets a little tipsy and becomes a tad bit more touchy-feely, her hair curtaining part of her face as she straddles Dahyun and leans in close enough until their noses start to brush.

“Nabongs…” Dahyun’s voice is low, throaty, her hands warmer than usual resting against Nayeon’s thigh.

Cheeks flushed, Nayeon hums and ghosts her lips along Dahyun’s jaw, giggling when Dahyun groans in response. She then singsongs, “Dahyunnie…” while flirting her fingertips across the slope of Dahyun’s shoulder.

Dahyun smiles, amused, and murmurs, “Okay, how much did you drink?”

“Not much, if that’s what you need to know,” Nayeon answers offhandedly and flicks her hair back.

“Hmm.”

Nayeon settles herself more comfortably on Dahyun’s lap and juts out her lower lip. “You don’t believe me.”

“When you’re acting like this?” Dahyun raises an eyebrow. “Next thing I know, you’ll have this drunken confession moment.”

Let it be said that Nayeon is a competitive person and likes to take most things as a challenge, even if some of them shouldn’t even be taken as such. This situation being one of them, for example. Maybe she would have realized this if she was completely sober, but she isn’t, and add the fact that she just wants to kiss Dahyun and vice-versa?

Well.

“Okay, fine,” Nayeon huffs, her gaze burning with intensity as she looks Dahyun straight in the eye. “You want a confession that bad? Then let me give you one.”

Before she can launch into a rant about how much Dahyun has been driving her crazy since they started living together, Dahyun suddenly flips her over so that Nayeon is lying back against the couch. Out of reflex, Nayeon squeaks in surprise and smacks Dahyun’s arm.

“Dahyun, what are you-“

“Do you know why I never tried to ask Jihyo out?” Dahyun says in a breathless rush, cutting Nayeon off.

Confused and unsure as to why Dahyun is bringing this up all of a sudden, Nayeon frowns and creases her forehead. “Isn’t it because you’re afraid that it wouldn’t work out?”

Dahyun takes a deep breath, then says, “I lied.”

Now Nayeon feels even more lost. “What do you mean you lied?” she asks, frown deepening. “Do you like her back?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Then why-“

“Because you’re the one I want, Nabongs,” Dahyun breathes out, her gaze fixed firmly on Nayeon.

Nayeon swears her heart stops beating right there and then, the flicker of emotion in Dahyun’s eye sending her into a dizzy spell. Or is it the alcohol in her system? God, she doesn’t even know anymore.

But why is Dahyun telling her this now? Is it because she believes that Nayeon is drunk enough to forget this in the morning? _Does_ she want Nayeon to not remember this?

_Ugh._

Why is Dahyun so damn _confusing_ sometimes?

In her frustration, Nayeon groans and shoves at Dahyun’s chest. “You’re making my head hurt,” she complains. “Why do you always give me such a huge headache, you idiot?”

She’s half-expecting Dahyun to make a retort or a witty comeback, but Dahyun just leans in closer and touches their foreheads together. Nayeon whines and tries to push her away again, but Dahyun refuses to budge.

“Stupid, idiot,” Nayeon huffs, hitting Dahyun’s shoulder with every single word, “dummy, moron-“

Dahyun laughs in amusement and points out, “You do realize they all mean the same thing, right?”

The sharp glare she receives from Nayeon immediately shuts her up.

“I hate you,” Nayeon sniffs.

Dahyun smiles, gaze soft as she laces their fingers together. “I know.”

“You’re stupid.”

“I know that, too.”

“You’re such a smartass.”

Dahyun laughs again and kisses Nayeon’s forehead. “Yeah. I’ve always been a smartass.”

Smile fond, Nayeon shakes her head as she Dahyun’s face in her hands and whispers, “Say it again.”

“I’ve always been a smartass,” Dahyun repeats with a broad grin that makes Nayeon want to kick her off the couch.

Did she ever mention that she _hates_ Dahyun? Because if not, then she’s saying it now. She can’t _stand_ Dahyun’s guts. “Not _that,_ ” Nayeon whines.

Chuckling quietly, Dahyun nuzzles her cheek into Nayeon’s palm, then murmurs, “You’re the one I want, Nabongs.”

It’s both enough and too much at the same time, and it makes Nayeon feel as though her heart is about to burst as she sniffles and buries her face into Dahyun’s chest. “You’re the one I want, too…” she sniffs, then pulls back to pinch Dahyun’s cheek. Dahyun groans in protest, and in a half-annoyed tone, Nayeon continues, “But I’m still annoyed at you. I was going to confess because you asked for one, but you just _had_ to steal it away from me.”

She emphasizes her point by puffing out her cheeks the way a kid does when they aren’t given what they want, except she can’t cross her arms over her chest because Dahyun still has her very much trapped against the couch.

“Really,” Dahyun says through a laugh, eyes shining with fondness, “only you would get upset over something like this.” When Nayeon simply juts out her lower lip in response, Dahyun laughs harder and relents, “Alright, fine. The floor is yours now.”

Cheeks flushed, Nayeon averts her gaze and mumbles, “I want you to kiss me.”

Dahyun doesn’t hesitate to lean in then, lips brushing against Nayeon’s once, twice, before she gives Nayeon a proper one at last. Nayeon’s eyes flutter to a shut as she wraps her arms around Dahyun’s neck and kisses back, breaths coming out shallow while Dahyun continues to chase after her lips.

It’s everything Nayeon has ever wanted and so much more, her heart settling in even beats as Dahyun holds her close—like holding Nayeon in her arms is everything she’s ever wanted, too.

\-------------

(What started as a joke ends up being true over time, because it turns out Dahyun wasn’t even kidding in the first place about proposing to Nayeon.

They’re having dinner in the kitchen when Dahyun suddenly gets down on one knee, hair tousled and wearing nothing but an oversized shirt and those plaid pajama pants she loves so much as she takes Nayeon’s hand in hers, then goes on to whisper that she’s loved Nayeon for all her life.

It isn’t with the ring they saw through the window that day, but Nayeon doesn’t care. Heck, Dahyun could propose to her with those candy ring pops or an origami ring, and Nayeon’s answer would still be a sure, resounding yes.

What Nayeon does whine about is why Dahyun chose to propose when she looks like an absolute mess, what with her wearing one of Dahyun’s old shirts and faded sweats—not to mention her disheveled hair that’s tied in a messy ponytail.

Dahyun, of course, being Nayeon’s Kim Dahyun, just laughed her off and kissed her pout away after slipping the ring onto her finger.

And Nayeon, being Dahyun’s Im Nayeon, let Dahyun off the hook the moment their lips touched.)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, and I'd love to hear your thoughts!
> 
> Also, you can find me on twitter: [@minaridubu](https://twitter.com/minaridubu) :D


End file.
